System and method for computer resource marketing

Abstract

A computer resource marketing system using LPAR (logical partitioning) technology that divides a computer resource into a plurality of logical partitions, including a lending server with a logical partition control unit 3 that designates at least one logical partition as a lendable partition, a client system that can borrow a logical partition in the lending server and submit processing to the logical partition, a resource database that stores lending conditions and certification information of logical partitions in the lending server, and a management server that searches the resource database based on a borrowing request from a client system, notifies the client system of a logical partition that meets the requirements of the borrowing request, and authorizes the client system to use the logical partition.

Description

[0001] The present application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10 / 046,482, filed Jan. 16, 2002, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a computer system in which resources are shared among a plurality of computers interconnected through a network. [0003] There is a known technology that divides one physical computer resource into logical partitions and uses them as a plurality of virtual computers, as disclosed, for example, in patent documents JP-A-103092 / 1994 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,786. Specific implementations of this technology are known by such names as hypervisor and LPAR (logical partition). [0004] With recent advances in use of the Internet and intranets and a quantum leap in performance of personal computers, a type of technology for sharing or lending resources among a plurality of networked computers has been proposed. Known as peer-to-peer computing, this technology lends a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide an improved processing capability and fault tolerance, to assure the quality of lent resources, and to provide adequate security for both the lender and the borrower, thereby making resource sharing more reliable.

[0013] As described above, in a computer resource marketing system according to the present invention, in order to borrow one of a plurality of logical partitions generated in a computer, a client system sends use requirements to a management means that manages the lendable resources, and the management means references the resource database to determine the logical partition to be lent, whereby the client system on the borrowing side can quickly find resources that meet the use requirements and are available, and, in peer-to-peer computing that shares resources among a plurality of computers, quick acquisition of required performance and OSs is possible, enabling the lending side to ensure the processing capability, fault tolerance, and security by using logical partitions.

Problems solved by technology

The example shown in FIG. 17, however, presents a problem in that the resource manager 91 installed on the computer 90 for lending resources is implemented as an application running on the shared OS 92 or as a built-in function of the OS 92, so that, if the OS 92 stops (hangs up) under the influence of a lender's application 94 running on the computer 90, resource lending services stop, resulting in poor service quality and performance.

Another problem, from the viewpoint of the lender (such as the owner) of the resources of the computer 90 is that the lender's application 94 may also stop if the OS 92 is hung up by the client application 93 running on a lent resource, and if a computer virus or worm is present in the client application 93, it may destroy data in the computer 90 that lends the resource, or impair security, such as by allowing data to leak.

The former example (disclosed in JP-A-103092 / 1994 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,786) has another problem in that, although it can allocate logical partitions for lending, the resources allocated to the logical partitions can be changed while they are being lent, so that it is difficult to offer assured performance to the users.

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